SSBF – AN INFLUENTIAL NAME IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR OF BANKING AND FINANCE

Scope in the Banking and Finance Industry is behemoth; n number of opportunities are emerging in the arena. At present times, individuals don’t want to miss out on a single chance to work for the sector.  But not everybody is skilled or capable of filling the banking, financial services, and insurance positions. Honing the skills of youngsters by rendering an excellent education in the respective realm, Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance, Pune has carved a colossal niche.

Dr. Manisha Ketkar, the connoisseur, is the Director and Professor of SSBF.

Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF) is an integral part of Symbiosis International – a deemed University, Pune. SSBFl offers full time and two year residential MBA program in Banking and Finance. The purpose of education here is to prepare students and make them industry- ready-professionals to pursue a career in Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector. SSBF has always kept itself abreast of the latest changes in the industry. In order to cater to the requirements of the dynamic BFSI sector, SSBF tunes its curriculum by soliciting inputs from the industry stalwarts. Hence, it is not surprising that SSBF has eminent and experienced people from the industry in the advisory board and alumni who provide inputs to keep their curriculum relevant and updated as per the demands of the industry.

When SSBF started in the year 2010, Public sector banks used to recruit talent from the private institutes through campus recruitments. With the objective of providing ready to move human resources, SSBF was established to offer an MBA in Banking and Finance. After the year 2013, according to directions of honorable Bombay High Court, SSBF shifted its focus from public sector banks to private sector banks and companies in the BFSI domain.

The exponential growth of the banking and financial sector in this competitive era has opened up varied career roles. Starting from the Financial and Business Analytics to Assets Management, today, the students have numerous options to choose from. SSBF regularly revises and updates its curriculum, thereby making it futuristic based on comments from industry experts. Also, their MBA offers in depth knowledge in encompassing the multiple aspects of the Banking, Financial Service and Insurance (BFSI) industry. With a focus on inculcating adaptability in students, SSBF enables students to become lifelong learners.

The MBA in Banking and Finance of SSBF is designed with an objective to disseminate the relevant knowledge and provide skills to students so that they can function effectively in the challenging environment of banking, finance and insurance sectors.

THE CURRICULUM

The curriculum starts with the basics of management, finance, and banking and over the course of two years, students get exposure to more complex and relevant subjects like Credit Management, Financial Risk Management, Fixed Income Markets, Micro Finance and Development Banking. Foreseeing the huge requirement of talent in FinTech companies and technological advancements in the sector, SSBF has added a few technology-related subjects in the curriculum in order to understand the expectations of the industry. The curriculum has been developed by benchmarking it against National and International Universities/Institutes, offering similar courses. This has made their program comprehensive and well defined, catering to both the National and International needs of the BFSI domain. SSBF’s Corporate Interface Team invites industry experts to deliver guest lectures on varied topics such as Data Analytics, Growth and prospects in the banking industry, Cryptocurrency, Financial Journalism, Budget Analysis etc., which help students to keep themselves updated. An Annual Banking and Finance Conclave popularly called as the Symposium is organized every year on the contemporary/ forthcoming topics and issues enveloping the banking and Finance Industry. This is organized as a series of panel discussions throughout the day where industry experts deliberate and throw light on the challenges and opportunities in the sector.

ESSENTIAL TIE UPS

The tie-ups maintained by SSBF further help in facilitating academic delivery. They are an educational partner to Bajaj Finserv, as a part of which, they offer a joint certificate program in Banking, Finance, Insurance and Business Communication (CPBFI) for fresh graduates and final year students who are seeking jobs after their graduation. SSBF runs this program along with Bajaj Finserv under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of Bajaj Finserv. SSBF has developed content for all the modules of this certificate program. SSBF also conducts Training programs to run this certification program in PAN India. SSBF has been developing training and students’ manuals for CPBFI.

SSBF has also collaborated with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to develop content for National University Student’s Skill development, a project initiated by TISS to increase the employability of the university students by imparting knowledge and skills.

SSBF has signed an MOU with CRIF High Mark for giving a scholarship of Rs. 1,00,000-/- for a needy student based on academic performance and family’s financial condition. The trophy is awarded for the outstanding student every year

MOU is signed with BAIF for the field visit where students interact with the community in the rural areas and understand ongoing projects, facets of micro finance and their business model for livelihood.

SSBF has patterned with EduCBA (Online training provider) to provide 700+ online modules in the finance domain to the students to have an edge over other MBA students.

SSBF has also partnered with the Association of International Wealth Management of India (AIWMI) to offer the prestigious global certification- Certified Credit Research Analyst (CCRA).

They encourage students to appear for industry-relevant certifications such as CCRA certification, Bloomberg Market Concepts, NISM certifications, etc., which are all embedded in the curriculum. Students also get a firsthand industry experience during two months of mandatory internship. The dissertation is also an essential aspect of the curriculum where students get to research on contemporary issues in the BFSI sector.

EXEMPLARY FACULTY

Banking and Finance being a specialized domain, so the role of faculty members becomes instrumental for the students’ academic and professional progress. The role of faculty in a classroom is more of a facilitator imparting and building the theoretical foundation of the field and stimulating learners to think critically in practice.

Faculty at SSBF are UGC qualified and experienced academicians. Most of the faculty members have also served the industry who are committed to excellence in teaching and research. The theoretical knowledge provided by academicians and the practical aspects disseminated by bankers/industry professionals offers the perfect blend of both these aspects.

The faculty members are sound in research and have their researches published in Scopus and ABDC category journals. They regularly present papers at prestigious international and national conferences and have also won a number of awards.

The classroom environment is interactive where participative learning permits a free flow of ideas between faculty and students.

 ACCOLADES UNDER THE NAME OF SSBF

SSBF has achieved many accolades in this journey of imparting knowledge; the list is as follows:

• Awarded as ‘ Maharashtra’s Top 20 Educational Institutions-2019’ by The Academic Insights magazine.
• Awarded for ‘Excellence in Industry-Academia Interface’ in 7th Higher Education Summit 2019 by Indian Education Network
• Ranked in Top 100 B-School Ranking 2018 by Outlook-Drishti in October 2018
• Awarded as ‘Business School of The Year 2018 in the category of Curriculum Revision’ by The Academic Insights magazine.
• Awarded as ‘Management Institute of The Year 2018’ by Higher Education Review magazine.
• Awarded AAA+ rank in Top Private B School Ranking 2018 – West Zone by the Digital Learning Magazine
• ‘Best Institute in Banking and Finance’ by Dewang Mehta National Education Awards on 25th November 2017
• 2nd position all over India in Bloomberg sponsored Trading competitions ‘So You Think You Can Trade’ held from 05th January 2015 to 05th February 2015.

Students are getting an appreciation for their knowledge and hard work during summer internship by diverse organizations such as State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra.  The projects were undertaken on wealth management, Credit appraisal, Non-performing assets, and Asset Recovery and Loan products.

SSBF has an excellent track record with respect to Placements. For last 3 years we have achieved 100% placement for eligible* candidates. (*Eligibility is based on the Attendance norm, No backlog etc.) SSBF Students got placed in JP Morgan Chase, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, HDFC Bank, Capital First, Federal bank, Care Ratings, etc. with various profiles like Operations, Channel Officer, Credit Officer, Relationship Manager, Analysts, Credit Manager, Credit Underwriter, Product Trainee and Management Trainee etc.

SSBF is proud to say that their alumni Mr. Hardik Mehta has joined as a Manager in Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Mr. Bhargav Diwanji has joined as an Associate Vice President- Analytics, Consulting and Strategy at Autoninja. Few students have ventured into entrepreneurship establishing new businesses. Many of their students have achieved laurels in their careers in a short span.